In line with the SAR Government’s development strategy of “1+4” for adequate diversification, Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO) keeps deepening integration across the sectors of “tourism +” and dedicates unreserved efforts in destination marketing. Promotional campaigns kicked off in various visitor markets following Macao’s lifting of travel restrictions early this year. Both online and offline promotional measures are rolled out, in tandem with public-private partnerships and fascinating monthly events. The results are significant with a steady increase in visitor arrivals to Macao this year.

Positive trend of tourism figures

According to provisional figures, cumulative visitor arrivals exceeded 11.645 million from January to June 2023. The daily average of visitors topped 64,000, a rebound to 59.6% of the figure in 2019. International visitor arrivals neared 475,000 in the first six months, equivalent to 31.2% of the corresponding figure in 2019. The provisional figures revealed that the hotel occupancy rate averaged 80.1% between January and June, a mere difference of 10.7 percentage points lower than the rate of 90.8% in 2019.

Comprehensive measures of digital marketing

This year, MGTO continues to deepen the synergy of digital and traditional marketing initiatives to magnify the impact of both online exposure and first-hand experience. The Office not just releases diverse travel information about Macao on popular social media but also casts the spotlight on festivals and events, sports events, gastronomy and community tours. There are ongoing collaborations with e-commerce platforms and online travel agencies (OTA) to launch themed products with special discounts and bid for organization of mega events and TV shows in Macao.

Special offers in partnership attract visitors from different markets

Through the scheme “My Treat for You, See You in Macao”, MGTO rolls out special offers on air ticket, hotel and other travel products by stage throughout the year. Through the “My Treat for You, Joyful Macao Tour” Subsidy Scheme, the Office seeks to attract more visitors from the Mainland, Taiwan region and international markets to experience Macao on group tours. Besides launching the special offer of “buy-one-get-one-free” air tickets in partnership with Air Macau, the Office also joins hands with Jin Air from Korea in May. A partnership with AirAsia will also unfold this summer, which targets the Southeast Asia market with special offers and time-limited deals on air tickets.

MGTO rolled out “Macao Treat”, the buy-one-get-one-free special offer for purchase of Hong Kong – Macao shuttle bus and ferry tickets from January to June this year, to attract Hong Kong residents and international visitors in Hong Kong to Macao.

Public-private collaboration in destination marketing

In June, various governmental entities, enterprises and businesses from Macao jointly organized the first Macao Week of this year in Qingdao, a city along the high-speed rail. Staged for five days, the “Macao Week in Shandong•Qingdao” roadshow attracted 200,000 spectators on site and engaged over 130 million viewers cumulatively online. The next Macao Weeks will be held in Tianjin and Xiamen later this year, where the public and private sectors will jointly promote the latest information about Macao’s culture, tourism, commerce and sports as well as special travel offers.

Since last year until April 2023, the “Experience Macao, Unlimited” Caravan Roadshow Series across the Greater Bay Area were held in the nine cities of the Greater Bay Area. The nine roadshows drove transactions worth over 70 million patacas and attracted 2.828 million spectators in total. The cumulative view count neared 1.02 billion on different promotional channels.

Attract international visitors by online-offline promotional initiatives

MGTO is actively carrying out an array of promotional campaigns and marketing measures in various visitor markets, dedicated to expanding the diversity of international visitors. In terms of targeted overseas markets, MGTO organized the promotional events “Experience Macao Unlimited” in Lisbon, Portugal and Bangkok, Thailand in April and June respectively. Following that, the Office unfolds a roadshow in Seoul, Korea this month (July) to familiarize Korean residents and tourism businesses with the destination’s fascinating offers and new elements of “tourism +”. MGTO also actively participates in major regional and international travel fairs and trade networking events to promote Macao through different channels.

To date, the Office has invited over 830 industry delegates, media and travel connoisseurs from the Mainland, Hong Kong, Taiwan region, Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Korea and Portugal to Macao for familiarization visits, as well as destination presentations and networking sessions for some of the delegations. In late July, the Office will arrange for delegations of Japanese and Indonesian travel trade to visit Macao, as part of the vigorous endeavors to enhance tourism cooperation with different countries and regions.

Held successfully in early July, the 11^th Macao International Travel (Industry) Expo (“MITE”) delivered a platform for cooperation in “tourism +” and once again gathered tourism industry delegates from worldwide to connect and navigate business opportunities. The number of exhibitors and buyers hit the highest record since the inception of MITE. During the Expo, several hundreds of participants from near and far had the arranged opportunity to experience Macao’s vibrant scene of “tourism +”. Representatives and chefs from 23 UNESCO Creative Cities of Gastronomy including Macao were also invited for familiarization, exchange and culinary demonstrations in Macao, which manifested the city’s strengths as an international exchange platform.

Great efforts to increase visitor flow and bolster community economy

In terms of community tourism, MGTO presents the specialized subsidy programs namely “Development of community tourism and economy”, “Gastronomic culture promotion” and “Maritime tourism”, which encourage community organizations to organize activities infused with a diversity of distinctive resources, attracting visitors into communities for sightseeing and revitalizing the community economy. The Office has also incorporated a new category of “tourism +” into the specialized subsidy program to push forward cross-sector integration of “tourism + sports, culture and creativity, technology”. Over 40 activities are approved and subsidized under the three specialized subsidy programs in 2023. The activities are expected to engage around 2 million participants and 3,000 businesses directly.

Deepen integration of “tourism + sports”

As the Macau Grand Prix celebrates its 70^th anniversary this year, MGTO and Madame Tussauds Hong Kong join hands to exhibit the eight wax figures of racing drivers at the Macao Grand Prix Museum since late March, harnessing the Macau Grand Prix’s glamour in destination marketing as part of its commitment to integrate “tourism + sports” and other sectors, boost the charm of the Museum and enrich museumgoers’ experience.

“Be My Guest ∙ Feel At Home”

MGTO is currently carrying out the Macao Courtesy Campaign. Through a series of promotions and dissemination, the Campaign inspires warm hospitality towards travelers among Macao residents and members of the trade, brands Macao as a hospitable destination, promotes sustainable tourism development and reinforces the city’s status as a world centre of tourism and leisure.

Attract visitors with colorful upcoming events in the latter half of 2023

This year, MGTO will continue to deepen integration of “tourism +” and present a kaleidoscope of travel experiences for visitors. The ferry service between Taipa (Macao) and Guishan Island (Zhuhai) was inaugurated today (15 July), offering another element which can enhance the offer of diverse tourism products.

MGTO held an array of mega events including the Fireworks Display and the Parade for Celebration of Chinese New Year in the first half of this year. In the latter half of 2023, the Macao International Fireworks Display Contest and the Global Tourism Economy Forum will return while the Light up Macao and other mega events will continue to dazzle the city, set to unleash the vitality of Macao’s events in “tourism +”.

In the future, the Office will strive to foster the interactive development between tourism and other related industries. Committed to the development strategy of “1+4” for adequate diversification, vigorous endeavors will be made to develop the integrated tourism and leisure industry, in turn propelling the development of the four major industries including health and wellness, modern financial services, innovative technology, conferences and exhibitions, commerce and trade, and culture and sports, to invigorate the community tourism and economy, tap into various visitor markets and spur economic revival in Macao.